


The Trek South

by RedAlgaeBloom



Series: InuSess Bingo [1]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, Inusess bingo, M/M, Pre-Relationship, getting caught in the rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25773703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedAlgaeBloom/pseuds/RedAlgaeBloom
Summary: Inuyasha gets caught out in the rain and ends up agreeing to an unexpected diplomatic trip to the south.A fill for the InuSess Bingo for the prompts: Caught in the rain, Huddling for Warmth, hurt/comfort,
Relationships: InuYasha/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Series: InuSess Bingo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1869769
Comments: 14
Kudos: 93





	The Trek South

**Author's Note:**

> This is, so far, just a short one-shot that takes place pre-InuSess relationship. I am actually really interested though in the premise I set out in this chapter so I might expand on it later if I find time!!
> 
> Enjoy~

### The Road South

##### Caught in the rain, Free space (Huddling for Warmth), hurt/comfort

Living in a human village, Inuyasha was coming to realize, had spoiled him when it came to anticipating human reactions to hanyou. He knew before, before Kikyo and Kagome and Miroku and Sango and Kyade, that humans didn’t like him, didn’t want him around, but he had been _spoiled_ by his friends. Had somehow managed to forget in just a few short decades and now he was paying the price for his stupidity.

He was freezing to death.

He had been cursed, or more specifically _blessed_ and at some point he had gotten separated from that damn monk. It was the downpour. It was making it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of him and impossible for him to smell anything. Even if he could, he had a feeling that the monk had gone to the exact place that Inuyasha couldn’t follow. 

“I know a place we will be welcomed for the night, my _ass.”_ Inuyasha grumbled as he desperately tried to find some kind of shelter from the rain, “The bastard could have mentioned it was a shrine, and that it was _well warded.”_ which meant that, once Inuyasha had hit the border of the damn thing, not only had he been unable to enter, he had then been shocked to hell and back with some kind of defensive seal that the monks had placed over even that. 

So while Miroku was probably relaxing safe and warm in the shrine, Inuyasha was stuck, out here, in the rain. 

  * And oh, of course he knew he could use Tessaiga to bring down that barrier, that he could push through the wards, but he doubted that that would ingratiate the monks to his presence or would bring them to agree to let him stay anyway. 



It wasn’t until he was a ways away, heading towards the mountains in hopes of finding some kind of cave or something that he noticed that he was getting colder. Much colder than he was used to. He paused and sniffed but the rain water was making it difficult to smell anything, but he had a suspicion. 

“Those damn monks! They _cleansed me!”_ he groaned, feeling the way his youkai energy was straining in an odd way, pulsing as it fought something off. It was the exact same way that it acted any time Kagome said ‘sit’, The demon half of him fighting against the priestesses power that bound it. 

Somehow those damn monks had done something to him, stuck something to him that was making his demon half fritze out which meant it was _out of commission_ for keeping him warm. 

“Stupid damn monks and their stupid damn wards and their stupid warm shrine and this stupid damn RAIN!” he yelled angilly up into the sky, baring his teeth at in before the sound of laughter had him turning around in one quick motion. 

“Have trouble little brother?” Came Sesshomaru’s voice from where he was standing, immaculate as ever, under the downpour.

“Sesshomaru.” Inuyasha growled, baring his teeth, “In case you haven’t noticed I’m not exactly in the mood.” 

He watched as Sesshomaru’s eyes traveled over him then, slowly and carefully taking in his form which made the deep chill already settling into his bones worse. “Look.” He hisses own, his hand’s tensing, ready to strike if needed, “I don’t know why the fuck you are here, but unless you’re here to show me someplace to warm up I don’t want any of your shit today!”

Sesshomaru’s eyes moved back up then and caught Inuyasha’s own, blank as ever, before his head tilted slightly to the side. 

“Very well, follow me.” came Sesshomaru’s reply and Inuyasha was so shocked by it that it took a moment for him to scramble after. Sesshomaru walked a few paces more before taking off at nearly top speed and Inuyasha let out an indigent ‘hey!’ before having to push himself to keep up. It was difficult and annoying trying to keep up and he slipped more than once on wet tree branches, but Sesshomaru was obviously trying not to lose him because every time Inuyasha picked himself back up Sesshomaru was waiting. 

They finally made it to a small hot spring which was being fed from a small stream flowing from the opening of a medium size cave. Inuyasha did not want to think about how far he had ended up from Miroku at this point, but seeing the cave and seeing the steam rising from the hotspring even in the rain made it hard to care. 

He was tugging off all of his clothes as soon as they came to a stop and, within seconds, dropping into the hotspring with a groan of appreciation. It is still raining and it’s still hitting his head, but his body is now surrounded by warmth and so that is all that really mattered. 

“Really Inuyasha?” Sesshomaru’s voice called out to him in annoyance and Inuyasha cracked open an eye to look over at him. Sesshomaru was looking down at Inuyasha's soaked clothes in annoyance from where they rest on the edge of the hotspring, still getting rained on, and Inuyasha groaned before going over, grabbing his cloths, and throwing them as hard as he could into the opening to the cave where they hit the ground with a satisfying ‘splat’. 

Sesshomaru didn’t look impressed by that but, then again, Sesshomaru was never impressed by anything Inuyasha did and so Inuyasha ignored it and went back to relaxing in the hotspring. 

A few moments later Inuyasha felt the water shift and again he cracked open an eye to stare annoyed and slightly surprised over at Sesshomaru. 

“You’re bringing your tail in too?” He asked, seeing as the thing was still wrapped around Sesshomaru’s shoulder as he ducks into the hotspring, his own clothing visible from within the cave and far more neatly organized. 

“As it has gotten significantly water logged, yes.” Sesshomaru answered as he settled in opposite Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked. 

“You know you can just say that it’s cold.” He teased and laughed happily when it pulled out a glare from his brother. He leaned contently back against the natural edge of the hotspring, his arms resting against it as he sighed. It’s still raining but it's a little lighter now and easier to ignore. 

“So why were you looking for me?” Inuyasha finally asked, knowing full well that he would not have run into Sesshomaru if his brother had not been out looking for him. 

“There is a problem at the Southern border.” Came Sesshomaru’s response, “And while I would normally deal with it in my own way, I am being...advised to be more diplomatic in my approach.”

Inuyasha snorted at that and tilted his head back up to look across to Sesshomaru who was carefully running his fingers through his tail, untangling the wet and matted hairs. “You? Taking advice from the counsel? Is they world ending?” He asked incredulously. Sesshomaru ignored the jab, or at least didn't react physically to it. 

“Every so often their advice is sound, and this is sadly one of them. If you cannot spare the time then I will simply find another.”

“Didn’t say I wouldn’t help.” Inuyasha responded, thinking, “What is this about anyway? Why do you need me?”

“Because you are Hanyou.” Sesshomaru explained bluntly as he finally looked over to him, “And the situation specifically involves Hanyou. Mostly an uprising of a new rebellious force who is...displeased with the ascension of the newest Lady of the South.”

“She’s Hanyou?” Inuyasha asked, surprised that they would allow the crowning of Hanyou into such a position. 

“No.” Sesshomaru replied, going back to his tail, “But her older brother is. There are...questions of succession.” Sesshomaru finished and Inuyasha groaned. 

“Fuck. I don’t know what the hell the counsel wants _me_ to do about that.” Inuyasha complains, “What? Do they want _us_ to go over there and show them how to play nice? Because that is fucking laughable.” Inuyasha went on, actually letting out a huffed laugh, but Sesshomaru didn’t join in. 

“That is, essentially, the gist of it, yes.” which turned Inuyasha's laugh into a coughing choke. “The counsel seems to believe that our recent...reconciliation may help to smooth things over with the southern siblings.” He looks up to see Sesshomaru looking at him through unamused eyes, “and that you might be able to give some...advice to the Hanyou that is trying to take the throne.”

“In other words talk the guy out of wanting the throne and just tell him to play nice.” Inuyasha groaned, “great. That’s just...great.”

They were quiet for a long time after that, perhaps both lost in thought or perhaps both simply enjoying the warmth of the hotspring until Inuyasha finally had to word a question that has been jumping around in his mind, “Does the counsel really think we’ve reconciled our differences?”

“They would be idiots if they did.” Came Sesshomaru’s near instantaneous response. Bastard didn’t even have to think about it. 

“You call them idiots all the time.” Inuyasha reminded him and that actually pulled a sharp smile out of Sesshomaru. 

“So I do.” 

It’s not an answer but Inuyasha knew by now when he wasn’t going to get one and didn't push the issue. It’s likely that Sessomaru didn’t have one. The fact of the matter is that neither him nor Sesshomaru really knew where they stood with each other most days any more. Sometimes they would be at eachothers throats like the last few decades had never happened, and sometimes it would be like this, a comradery born not just from fighting together but also from shared experiences and the reality of their upcoming loss. 

Inuyasha didn’t like to think about it, and he doubts Sesshomaru did either, but they have both become attached to humans, humans that are rapidly aging and are likely to be dead in just a few more decades. After that...well after that it will really only be them and a select few other demons that will even know or remember their humans at all. 

It certainly makes for one hell of a bonding tool. 

They sat in silence once more and Inyasha did not break it.

\-----------

“We should have started a fire before we got into the hotspring.” Inuyasha complained as they finally got out and made their way into the cave. The cave itself was surprisingly warm, mostly from the steam rising from the small stream that flowed through it that fed the hot spring outside. It was not warm enough to dry their clothes though which was going to be a problem. 

Inuyasha took his own clothes over to the stream and tried to ring out some of the water to little success. 

“There would have been no point in attempting to light a fire.” Sesshomaru told him from where he was laying out his tail by his clothes, the tail just as wet as everything else though supposedly warmer after having been in the hotspring. “All of the wood around here will be wet and unusable for such a task. We will simply have to wait for our clothing to dry without it.”

Inuyasha groaned at that and looked out into the darkness of the woods. The rain has mostly stopped by now, down to a simple trickle, and Inuyasha bit his lip in thought. “I could go looking. There might be something around here that stayed dry at least this close to the mountains.” 

“I will not stop you if you want to look. But you are still suffering from the effects of a blessing.” Sesshomaru reminded him as Inuyasha glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow, “Did you think I would not notice it on your skin? It’s an agitation to my senses, no matter how weak of a spell it is.”

“Hey!” Inuyasha yelled indignantly and the insinuation hidden in those words. 

“But it should wear off within the next few hours.” Sesshomaru went on as if Inyasha had said nothing “If you wish to chance the cold again for some dry wood for a fire I will not stop you.”

Inuyasha thought about it then thought about it some more, before groaning and giving in. 

“You can’t just get rid of this thing for me?” He begs, he can already feel some of the cold returning to him, even after all that time in the hotspring and how warm it is here, “There has to be something you can do?”

Sesshomaru seemed to hesitate at the request, his eyes glancing over Inuyasha once more, before sighing and indicating him over with a wave of his hand and a roll of his eyes. “Turn around.” He instructed and Inuyasha did so, turning his back to Sesshomaru before tensing as he felt the demon's hands come down on his shoulders. He only had a moment to even think about complaining before he was swept up in a very sudden and enormous blast of Youkai energy that flowed over his skin from head to two like a whirlwind. It only took a moment but Inuyasha could _feel_ as the monks blessing was blasted away from his body by the stronger force and Inuyasha’s own youkai responded in kind, flaring up alongside Sesshomaru’s for a moment as it was freed. 

And then it was over and Sesshomaru’s hands were no longer on his shoulder and he was already moving away back to his clothes by the time Inuyasha turned to look at him. 

“Uh. Thanks.” He offered but Sessomaru didn’t acknowledge it, not that Inuyasha expected him to, and instead picked his tail back up, inspecting it. Inuyasha took that to mean that he had better not mention it again if he knew what was good for him. Inuyasha was fine with that. 

“You know, If i have to leave here in damp clothing I am going to blame you and I am going to be _pissed_ for our whole trip down south.” Inuyasha offered up instead and watched as Sesshomaru turned once more to look at him. 

“So you have chosen to accompany me?”

Inuyasha shrugged as he moved back over to Sesshomaru, laying his clothes out as flat as he could next to his brothers to maybe try and help them dry faster, “Ya, might as well. I’ll need to drop back by that stupid shrine and try to catch Miroku to let him know about the change in plans, but I am sure he’ll be able to make it back to Kaede’s village without me.”

Sesshomaru nodded as he seemed to contemplate the rest of the space that is available to them in the cave, it was certainly spacious enough for both of them but Inuyasha can already see what Sesshomaru is thinking. 

“There is no way you can fit in here in your demon form,” He cut off that thought right away, “no matter how much warmer it would be for both of us.” 

Sesshomaru huffed but didn't reply which meant he agreed. Inuyasha watched him look back at his tail before sighing, putting it back on, and heading outside. 

The transformation is quick, and the subsequent ‘shaking to dry off’ just as much so. Inuyasha bit back a laugh at it, knowing that it was technically for both of their benefits that Sesshomaru got his tail as dry as he could. Still, it is always entertaining to see Sesshomaru’s demon form doing something so _canine._

Sesshomaru reappeared a moment later, his tail substantially drier, and moved to make it into a kind of nest for both of them to lay in. At least Inuyasha hoped it was for both of them. Inuyasha would fight for rights to cuddle up in Sesshomaru’s tail if he needed to. 

Thankfully he didn’t need to. The tail was still slightly damp, but it was better than nothing, and Sesshomaru’s warmth at his back along with the humid warmth from the hotspring are enough to lull him to sleep.


End file.
